With an overhaul of the meat of the batting order, it figures that the Burlington Royals need stellar pitching to compensate.

No better example than a 1-0 victory against the Danville Braves.

Cesar Ogando and Kevin McCarthy combined on a six-hitter in Appalachian League baseball Friday night at Burlington Athletic Stadium.

“Our pitchers dealed, so that was nice,” catcher Chad Johnson said.

A night after first baseman Sam Bates, the league’s leader in home runs and slugging percentage and the team leader in RBI, played his final game before a promotion within the organization, his replacement in the lineup drove in the game’s only run.

Bobby Brown knocked in Alfredo Escalera in the first inning. Escalera hit a one-out double and moved to third base on Tyler Chism’s single.

“I’ll definitely be getting a lot of playing time now that Bates isn’t here,” said Brown, who was Bates’ roommate. “Obviously, Bates deserved getting called up. It’s weird not having him around.”

It’s the Royals’ first shutout since winning 2-0 in a seven-inning nightcap of a doubleheader July 26 at Danville. Two of Burlington’s four shutouts have come in nine-inning games.

The teams wrap up their 11-game season series tonight when Burlington’s homestand concludes as the Royals will aim for their first three-game winning streak in more than a month. Danville (24-29) and Burlington (25-30) have split the first 10 meetings.

Recent reassignments stripped the Burlington lineup of its top three run producers. The team lost shortstop Ramon Torres and third baseman Mauricio Ramos in addition to Bates.

“I’ll take the RBI,” said Brown, who hadn’t driven in a run this month. “It’s definitely hard to get in a rhythm when you’re not in the lineup every day.”

Johnson said, “Bobby is going to fill in just fine.”

Royals manager Tommy Shields said putting together the batting order is becoming a challenge, though Chism has been a key piece somewhere in the middle since his arrival less than a month ago. Brown produced as the clean-up batter Friday night.

“We don’t have a whole lot of options to hit there,” Shields said. “We’re going to run out of options there.”

The pitching victory went to McCarthy (4-2), who tops active pitchers on the roster in triumphs.

“Definitely in pressure situations, you lock in more,” McCarthy said. “It’s definitely hard losing Bates. We still have guys.”

Burlington starter Cesar Ogando provided his first scoreless outing in nine appearances this year, though he left after four innings and wasn’t involved in the decision. Shields said it was Ogando’s best stretch, just that his pitch count rose too fast to stay in longer.